


Say Anything, They Said. It’ll Be Fine, They Said.

by onlyhereforellick



Series: Pranks & Serenades [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Jonas Brothers inspired, Maybe OOC, Say Anything inspired, super cheesy and I don’t even care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 15:23:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19748482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyhereforellick/pseuds/onlyhereforellick
Summary: Scooping her up before she could protest, he carried her, the boom box, and the food into his apartment, the Chinese long forgotten before the door even closed behind them.





	Say Anything, They Said. It’ll Be Fine, They Said.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: recently been lowkey obsessed with the new JBros album & while listening to it got inspired for this fic for Ellick. I sort of made it a Part 2 to Payback & Pancakes?
> 
> Also, if you haven’t yet, listen to “Comeback,” “Don’t Throw it Away,” “Sucker,” and “Hesitate” by the Jonas Brothers (then the excerpts will make more sense ;))
> 
> Final note, literally wrote it and posted it, zero editing, SO my bad if there’s mistakes.

Ellie knew she had to make it up to Nick somehow. He might not have easily given away just how upset he was earlier, but that joke she and Buckner played on him had not gone over well.

Did she regret it?  _ Hell, no. He cancelled my date without an explanation.  _ Did she wish they had taken it a *tiny* bit easier on him?  _ Mmm, maybe.  _ But how was she supposed to know he’d have such a strong reaction to it?  _He hasn’t said a damn thing to her about—well—anything._

Buckner claimed he was going to talk to Nick, but even if he did, it didn’t seem to matter. Nick still was playing the polite, but not overly friendly, coworker acting like nothing happened. It was as if he was never even at the diner that morning.  _UGH. This was eating away at her inside; she had to do *something*._

——

Finally, on a rainy, slow morning at work it clicked. That lightbulb went off and she almost jumped out of her chair. Looking up at Nick with a grin she couldn’t contain, he slowly felt her eyes on him and turned to give her a questioning glare.

“Bishop, what is it?”

Quickly trying to tamper down her excitement, “oh- no- nothing, nothing.”

She could tell he wanted to quip back, make some teasing remark, but like his new normal he just replied, “ok then,” and turned back to his paperwork.

_ Nick is actually doing paperwork and not complaining,  she thought,  _ _that’s how you know it’s bad._ She vowed to put her plan into action that night. 

——

Equipped with a boom box from the thrift store, a new mixtape, and some Chinese takeout, she was ready. She drove to Nick’s apartment, parked a couple blocks down as to not give herself away, and walked up to his front stoop. Thankfully, his place was in the front of the building and his neighbors were usually out late. Seeing the light on in the kitchen window, she put her mixtape in and pressed play. 

_Come back to me, baby, I’ll come back to you //_ _You know the place that I go runnin’ to //_ _I get scared when you’re scared but what else can I do? //_ _Come back to me, baby, I’ll come back to you //_ _Wherever you are right now //_ _Know somehow //_ _I’ll be on the way like a bat out of hell //_ _Heaven knows I’m proud but I’ll turn ‘round_

She paused it, seeing if there was any movement in the house...nothing. Well, time to take it up a notch. 

‘ _Cause I know you think you’re better off without me now //_ _Sayin’ all you need is space, baby, we can work this out //_ _But don’t throw it away this time, just take a little time to think //_ _Don’t throw it away, it’s fine, just don’t forget to think of me //_ _Don’t throw it away, your mind is messin’ with. your head again //_ _Instead of walkin’ away you should give it a break, tell me what to say //_ _Don’t throw it away_

She could’ve sworn the curtain moved, just barely, but it did. Smirking to herself, and next...

_You’re the medicine and the pain, the tattoo inside my brain //_ _And, baby, you know it’s obvious //_ _I’m a sucker for you //_ _You say the word and I’ll go anywhere blindly //_ _I’m a sucker for you, yeah //_ _Any road you take, you know that you’ll find me //_ _I’m a sucker for you all the subliminal things //_ _No one knows about you, about you //_ _And you’re making the typical me break the typical rules //_ _It’s true, I’m a sucker for you, yeah_

The curtains were officially pulled all the way to the side and a shadowy figure stood, just staring at her. He wasn’t going to say a word (again), that’s alright, she had one more for him. And if he still had nothing, then damn him, she was done. She gave it her all, remembered something he kept buried inside but a long time ago he let slip to her: the Jonas Brothers was his guilty pleasure, and he loved a good serenade. So she did it, she poured her heart out by way of a Jonas Brothers mixtape serenade 1980s style. And if he still didn’t want to talk to her, then she was moving the heck on. Pulling in a deep, fortifying breath, and slamming her eyes shut, she hit next for the last time.

_Pull me close and I’ll hold you tight //_ _Don’t be scared ‘cause I’m on your side //_ _Know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you //_ _I will take your pain //_ _And put it on my heart //_ _I won’t hesitate //_ _Just tell me where to start //_ _I thank the oceans for giving me you //_ _You saved me once and I’ll save you too //_ _I won’t hesitate for you_

Slowly, opening her eyes and immediately wishing she hadn’t, she saw the curtain back in place and the light turned off. Holding back the moisture that threatened to fall down her face, she collected her boom box and turned around, now kicking herself for parking so far away. She really thought this would do it, would sink into that thick skull of his that she loved. Turned out, she wasn’t enough. Whether it was that joke or something else, whatever she had done outweighed who she had been for years prior. 

Lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t hear the footsteps picking up speed behind her, until a loud, choked out, “Ellie!” sounded from a short distance away. Flying around so fast she almost smacked into Nick’s chest, she steadied herself and furiously tried to wipe her tears away before he saw her. 

“Ellie, did you put that together for me?” Nick—more gently this time—asked her.

With a wry chuckle, “no, McGee did...” He looked exasperated, so she added, “sorry, defense mechanism, yes, I did.”

“Why?”

“Is it not obvious? I screwed up. I thought we had something, especially after the whole Boyd-fiasco—“ Nick cringed inwardly, “But then Buckner convinced me to prank you and I went too far with it.” Looking for the words to say and coming up lamely, “so that was my apology.”

“Just an apology?” Nick probed.

“I- I don’t know anymore, Nick. I thought I could read you, but I can’t. So unless it means more to you, even though it certainly does to me, then yes, it’s just an apology. You can go back to ignoring me now.” She turned on her heel, once again upset with the outcome of this evening. 

But before she could get far, in what seemed like slow-motion, she felt Nick’s warm hand wrap around her upper arm right before he spun her around to face him chest-to-chest. She felt his warm, minty breath over her lips seconds before they came crashing down on hers. Stunned, for a brief second, she thanked her brothers for making her watch “Say Anything” years ago. Fleeting as that thought was however, she recovered and dove into the kiss with all her might. 

More than was an appropriate amount of time later for being on a public sidewalk, they broke apart—not by much—but enough to catch their breath. Through heaves Ellie managed to get out, “so it does mean more to you?”

Smiling bright at her, Nick simply stated, “more than you’ll ever know, Ellie more than you’ll ever know.”

With a quick peck to the corner of his smile because she couldn’t help herself, she told him, “I’ve missed that smile; your real one, when it hits your eyes.”

“I’m sorry I closed myself off from you. I just, I didn’t know how to put it into words.”

“Well me either, why do you think I used the Jonas Brothers?” she questioned with a pointed look and a small laugh. 

“Regardless, I’m so glad you did. But now—“ with a peck to her lips, then cheek, then nose, “did I smell Chinese too?”

Smacking his chest and shaking her head, she complied, “yes I brought in reinforcements just in case.”

“You could’ve led with that!” Nick exclaimed as he ducked from another smack. “But in all seriousness, get your serenading butt into my apartment, I’d like to finish what we started  not on a public sidewalk.”

Scooping her up before she could protest, he carried her, the boom box, and the food into his apartment, the Chinese long forgotten before the door even closed behind them. 

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if I even need this, but none of the lyrics used in this are owned by me; just love them so much I wanted to incorporate them!


End file.
